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10 Must-Have Christmas Collectibles for Perfect Gifts
How do you adorn for Christmas? For numerous individuals, setting up the Christmas tree stands as the main ritual of the holiday season. For others, the arrival of the festive period signals the moment to bring out their Christmas collections.
From Nativity scenes and miniature Christmas towns to angels and nutcrackers, you likely know someone who delights in collecting – and showcasing – Christmas-themed items.
For example, searching “Santa figurines” will yield over 11 million outcomes. A query for “Christmas gnomes” returns more than 24 million entries! That’s a vast number of gnomes and Santas!
Christmas also serves as an opportunity for collectors in other senses. Gifts are straightforward when you are aware of exactly what the person desires!
To aid your quest for a fantastic new addition for the avid collector in your life, we’re exploring some of the most sought-after Christmas collectibles.
Image by kkmarais via Flickr
Baubles
How many Christmas baubles do you possess? If you exhibit your ornaments beyond Christmas, you might be a collector. With such a vast array of colors, designs, and dimensions, establishing and expanding a collection of Christmas baubles is quite simple.
Ornament enthusiasts often tailor their collections to a specific pattern or motif. For instance, they may favor vintage, classic, or mercury glass decorations. Their choices could be driven by an interest or career.
They might gather ornaments from a specific artist, like Christopher Radko, or those that symbolize sports teams, brands, or beloved animated figures.
Then there are those who amass Christmas tree decorations that fit a certain theme, such as elves, stars, or snowflakes – the collecting and gifting possibilities are virtually limitless.
Christmas Trains
Individuals of a certain era will remember the magical enchantment felt upon discovering a model train encircling the tree on Christmas morning. That same sense of childhood wonder is captured in Christmas train sets, decorations, and collectibles.
From genuine electric and battery-operated train sets to train ornaments and holiday train tabletop accents, the variety of festive train decor is limitless. Who can resist a vibrantly adorned classic engine hauling cars loaded with jovial elves and colorful Christmas boxes?
A train collection promises countless adventures!
Snow Globes
Initially, snow globes weren’t intended as Christmas decorations. The first patented snow globe was actually an unsuccessful effort to create brighter lights for surgical rooms. However, by the 1920s, as production became easier and less expensive, snow globes turned into popular presents and collectibles.
While early snow globes typically depicted religious scenes, nowadays you can find them showcasing all kinds of motifs, from traditional winter landscapes to scenes from popular Christmas specials. Many snow globes light up, turn, or play music.
The best part is that a snow globe allows you to experience a bit of Christmas magic all year round.
Angels
As messengers of the initial Christmas, angels are one of the most enduring symbols of the festive season. Whether portrayed as delighted cherubs or heralding messengers, angels are ubiquitous during Christmas.
Products range from angel tree toppers to lawn decorations, but angel figurines likely remain the most collected angelic decor.
As long as Christmas exists, new angel figurines will always emerge to delight collectors.
Reindeer
Whether symbolized as a majestic stag or a playful reindeer, these creatures frequently appear on lawns, mantels, and dinnerware during the festive season.
In both European and North American traditions, deer have been significant for thousands of years – they’ve even been linked with ancient deities. However, the reindeer’s popular Christmas association was solidified after the famous poem by Clement Clarke Moore, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” introduced “eight tiny reindeer” pulling Santa’s sleigh, deeply embedding them in Christmas mythology.
Lucky collectors have a plethora of reindeer decor to choose from, including deer tabletop ornaments, reindeer Christmas baubles, lawn statues, and other reindeer-associated items.
Snowmen
Long before we became acquainted with a certain merry animated snowman, people enjoyed crafting figures out of snow. With their bright scarves and stylish top hats, snowmen symbolize winter joy and Christmas.
Nowadays, you can find snowmen represented in ornaments, apparel, greeting cards, Christmas stockings, and stocking holders.
Snowman collectibles vary from figurines to soft sculptures. Some may even illuminate, rotate, or play music – and the best part is, they never melt!
Christmas Gnomes
Amusing, soft little Christmas gnomes have swiftly won over collectors’ hearts. Gnomes and their Scandinavian counterparts, gonks, are often seen in pointy hats and cozy knit or fur-lined winter attire. Some woodland gnomes sport textured fabrics in subtle hues, while Christmas gnomes come dressed in vibrant holiday colors.
Gnome enthusiasts have a vast array of styles to pick from, and their reasonable prices make gnome decor simple to gift and gather.
Nutcrackers
Lively and slightly whimsical, nutcracker figurines have been a customary Christmas gift for generations. The soldier-like nutcrackers commonly seen today have origins in 1600s Germany. Their fame expanded following Tchaikovsky’s ballet, “The Nutcracker Suite.”
Nowadays, you can find Christmas nutcrackers in numerous shapes and dimensions. Traditional nutcrackers are crafted from wood, but there are also crystal nutcracker ornaments, ceramic nutcracker cookie jars, and many other nutcracker-themed items.
While artistically made nutcrackers can run into hundreds of dollars, more budget-friendly options in a variety of styles are plentiful during the festive season. New designs released annually ensure that Christmas nutcracker aficionados have continuous additions to their collections.
T-Shirtmeng features a comprehensive selection of nutcrackers, including various creations by Christian Ulbricht of Erzgebirge-Palace, based in the German mountain region where nutcrackers originally emerged.
Santa Claus
Who holds greater popularity during the holiday season than Santa Claus? From Santa gnomes to giant inflatable lawn Santas, the jolly figure is omnipresent during Christmas.
Father Christmas and Santa representations, artworks, and ornaments rank amongst the top Santa Claus collectibles. Within these groups, collectors might zero in on specific imagery, like Norman Rockwell Santas or Coca-Cola Santa illustrations.
Whether placed atop a mantel, near the Christmas tree, in an entryway, or on a coffee table, a Santa Claus figure always brings joy.
Nativity Sets & Christmas Villages
The most authentic representation of the season is the nativity scene. St. Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the initial living nativity scene back in the 13th century. Since then, people worldwide set up their own small nativity displays at home each Christmas season to commemorate the sacred birth.
Beyond the fundamental nativity set, which includes Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, additional figures like wise men, angels, and animals are often added. Some collections extend the scene beyond the stable boundary, incorporating figures depicting Bethlehem’s visitors, residents, and craftsmen.
Similarly, many also adorn their Christmas trees or tabletop arrangements with miniature villages. This tradition dates back to the late 1700s within the Moravian church. The hobby surged alongside the trend of setting up Christmas trains around trees, and really gained momentum in the 1980s.
Some of the favored Christmas village setups feature molded ceramic or resin replicas of contemporary and historical homes and shops. Miniature Christmas village sets might highlight small-town American lifestyle, Victorian London, or rural European enclaves, among other themes.
Why do people collect? Maybe it’s the excitement of searching for a novel variant of a familiar item or image. Perhaps it’s the joy of being surrounded by attractive things.
Whatever the cause, collecting brings happiness to countless individuals. And isn’t happiness what the Christmas season is all about?
This list merely begins to cover the variety of Christmas collectibles. If your preferred collectible isn’t mentioned here, we invite you to explore T-Shirtmeng for additional options to complete your Christmas present list. Some of these might even spark a new collection for you!
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